Monday, November 1, 2010

My Home Office

I cleaned and reorganized my office last week. It looked so nice and clean, that I went out and bought myself pink roses!

Currently, I work in the back of the house, within the 1970s addition/enclosed porch (to see our current floorplans, see my post here). It has wall to wall windows that overlook the backyard, and new Pergo floors (installed by the previous owners). It's a tight space, but it works just fine right now. All of my furniture is from Ikea (desk, rolling file, and cabinet). The white drapes help diffuse the sunlight while still keeping the space bright. I bought my desk chair from InMod and I found the pillow at an antique shop. I want to buy a striped rug and maybe spruce up the rolling file (I hate that "birch" finish!). I'm thinking of maybe decoupaging it in plaid fabric! Am I crazy?

The marble lamp with the black silk shade is vintage, and I absolutely love it. The silver tray (a wedding gift) helps to keep me organized by holding note cards, pens, stamps, etc. The silver stamp dispenser and silver bowl are also vintage pieces. And, while I've never been to Paris, I love the little souvenir Eiffel Tower and use it as a paperweight from time to time.

A few years ago, my husband made a business trip to NYC and brought me back the tiny Empire State Building. It sits next to a vintage silver toast rack that I use to hold cards, checkbooks, invitations, etc... It's a great catch-all and I love the way it looks. The Blue Willow porcelain cup is also vintage, it's the perfect place to keep my Sharpie Pens (which I am obsessed with, by the way). It was meant to be sold in my store, but I found a hairline crack running through it... so, now it's mine. The vase is a clear glass, vintage hobnail piece (I love this bumpy glass pattern and hope to start a real collection someday-- it's so classic but still feels fresh and modern).

The white cabinet featured above and below is this fabulous storage unit from Ikea. I like to stack current magazines on top of it (I have trouble throwing them away). I also keep my business cards and High Street Market stickers up here. The silver frame is from Anthropologie, the striped tray is from Ikea. Everything else is vintage (the horse and floral box are actually for sale in the shop). The snow leopard pillow cover is one of my all time favorite prints.

Let's talk about this amazing cabinet, shall we? I'm obsessed with it. If I had the room, I would buy two more and have three all lined up in a row. It holds EVERYTHING, and has a large file drawer underneath. I can't recommend it enough.

I love this cabinet!

So, this is my office! It's where I blog, place orders for clients, list new items in the shop... and spend countless hours reading design blogs. It's come a long way from what it looked like back in February (that picture was taken only a week after moving into this house). It's my 'happy place', since the rest of my house pretty much resembles a construction zone-- I'm not exaggerating, you've seen the pictures.

Next up, organizing the bookcase on the opposite wall. Not pictured for good reason. It's madness.

I can't get enough of your office, Kelly! The lamp is just gorgeous, and now I'm thinking of swapping my open shelving from Ikea for the cabinet- everything is so much neater this way.About the rolling files- have you thought of decoupaging them in snakeskin print (like so: http://pinterest.com/pin/927148/) ? I've been wanting to try it for a while now.

Thanks so much for sharing your office space, Kelly, love the small posy of fresh blooms on the silver tray and the way you can hide away the printer works well to keep the space looking, well, fabulous!

Well Kelly, this is really an inspiration! Loved seeing the transformation. You can see the very..beginnings of my office in our new house on my blog. It is SO much fun to redo your own personal space! I've painted and am waiting for new carpet. But that Ikea cabinet is a great idea. I'm leaving behind my tall wonderful TechLine cabinet when we move... so am looking for some new ways for storage. Love that it can hide the printer and scanner.Hmmmm. I'll stay tuned here!

Thank you thank you for posting this! It is so difficult to find inspiring home offices online! Yours is fantstic! My home office is on my list of "to do" for tomorrow and so is a trip to IKEA. Thanks fot the storage cabinet info... just what I need! Your vintage lamp makes my heart swell - how I love anything marble!

What an incredible space! Thanks so very much for sharing and inspiring me. As an early holiday present to myself, I am going to revamp my desk area with a new storage space and a spot to highlight my favorite tea related treasures.

For some reason, I'm also craving a set of gold plated office tools (pen, scissors, etc) to contrast lots of delicate, feminine, earth tones. Have you seen Erica Domesek's gold scissors on http://psimadethis.com/??

I am sitting at my desk (that you designed) as I read this and realize that I'm a hot mess! Papers everywhere, a cup of coffee, a hot pad (?) and some random yarn. Yah, I think you inspired me today. It's time to clean up my desk.

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about

Kelly Robson

High Street Market shop co-founder, interior designer, wife to Dave, and mommy to William and June. Living in Philadelphia, born and raised in California. Renovating a historic home and trying to enjoy all the beautiful things in life.